GAME STORY: Calhoun gets first big-league home run, some other (mostly bad) things also happened.

Levi Weaver , WFAA4:58 PM. CDT September 27, 2017

Willie Calhoun's first big-league home run was off of Justin Verlander, 11 years and nearly 5 months after Mike Napoli's first career homer, also off Verlander. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) (Photo: Ronald Martinez, 2017 Getty Images)

I will keep this brief, because no one needs one thousand words of prose about this baseball game, even if there are but a mere four games left before the Rangers’ 2017 season ends.

The Astros beat the the Rangers 12-2, and Justin Verlander did exactly what the Astros hoped he would do when they traded for him with two minutes to go before the trade deadline. He struck out 11 Texas Rangers in six innings, walking a succinct zero, and allowing just two runs.

The first one was the most exciting. In the second inning, with Texas already trailing 2-0 and en route to a three-strikeout half-inning, Willie Calhoun, the primary return in the Yu Darvish trade, swung hard at an 88mph changeup on the outside corner of the plate. The resulting impact launched a baseball into the right field stands for Calhoun’s first big-league home run.

Drew Robinson–who homered in the ninth inning of last night’s game–continued his strong finish to the 2017 season. He hit his sixth home run of the year in the fifth inning. At the time, the Rangers just trailed 4-2, which is a reasonable score.

Astros fans, don’t read any further.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

. Rangers fans... [solidarity in a sigh.]

They’re still reading this, and to give much more detail would be to feed their schadenfreude. The box score is on the internet if you’re really curious. After Robinson's home run, by the time the Rangers batted again, the score was 11-2, which is not a reasonable score, and it not a pleasant half-inning to endure for anyone, save for Astros fans, who, I might remind all readers, should not be reading this.

The half-frame included three Rangers pitchers, two Astros home runs (including a George Springer grand slam) an error, and eleven hitters sent to the plate. Jake Diekman pitched a perfect ninth inning. Keone Kela allowed a single, but erased it on a double play. The Rangers uniforms continued to be much more aesthetically pleasing than those of the Astros. That's really all there is to say about this game.

Most importantly, the Rangers won’t have to play the Astros again in 2017.